All applicants to one of our postgraduate funding programmes should follow the simple steps below. For all application deadlines please see here.
1. Identify a supervisor
Before making a formal application to the PhD programmes you should discuss your ideas with a potential supervisor within the School. However, please note that we can only provide supervision on subject areas in which we have specific expertise. Therefore, you should carefully consider whether your project fits with the research interests of the School. For further information can be found Putting together your research proposal.
2. Developing the research proposal
Your research proposal (c.1500-2000 words) is an important element of the School’s decision-making process. You should work closely with your potential supervisor to develop this. Further guidance is available Putting together your research proposal.
3. Gather supporting documents
Before applying online, ensure you have collated all the documents required for your application. List of required documents are:
4. Making an online application
All applications are submitted online to the Admissions and Recruitment Office at QMUL in the first instance. Applicants to the LAHP, LISS DTP or the London NERC DTP must also complete a separate application. Please note the application deadlines may be different to the QMUL deadline.
What happens next
If you have applied for the QMUL Principal’s studentship, the School will review your application and successful candidates will be nominated to Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences by the end of February 2023.
If you have applied for LAP or LISS DTP Open Studentships, applications will be considered directly at the DTP and you will be informed in due course.
If you have any academic queries not answered here, please contact our Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Kathryn Yusoff (Director of Graduate Studies – Human Geography), or Dr Stuart Grieve (Director of Graduate Studies – Physical Geography and Environmental Science). If you have any queries about the applications process not addressed here, please contact our Postgraduate Studies Manager ( Geog-PGadmin@qmul.ac.uk).
Though many people joining our PhD program have a first degree/masters in Geography/Environmental Science, we welcome applications from those with backgrounds in cognate disciplines.
The School is committed to appointing only the very best candidates to our PhD programme. Ideally, you should have a 1st Class degree and/or a Masters at Merit of above. If you have an Upper Second Class degree, you should be able to demonstrate a record of work at 1st Class level. Though a Masters degree is not a requirement, Funding (Research Council and College Studentships) is awarded on a competitive basis, and most applicants will have a Masters degree at Merit or Distinction (with many also holding a 1st Class degree). All our applicants are judged on the same criteria: record of academic achievement; quality of research proposal; and fit with the School’s research interests.
There are several ways of getting funding for a PhD. If you are a home/EU student, you may be eligible to apply for funding from one of the British Research Councils (NERC, ESRC, AHRC). Research council studentships pay full home fees and a maintenance award for 3 years. Each year the School also bid with College for a number of College PhD Studentships. If successful in this bid, these Studentships are made available to applicant’s to the School’s PhD programme. College Studentships also pay home fees and a maintenance award for 3 years. Your potential supervisor, or the Director of Graduate Studies, will be able to tell you which of these different awards you are eligible for. Current opportunities for funding, and details of how to apply for the different awards, are listed on our Funding page.
Our PhD programme starts in September. It is not possible to start at any other point. Term dates are here: please note that induction to the Department takes place during registration week.
Our PhD programme is offered on a full and part-time basis. Full time students study for three years, part-time students for six years. Overseas students should note that it is extremely rare for the British government to award a student visa for part-time study, unless you are already working in Britain with a work permit.
The Research Proposal is a 1500-2000 word document in which you set out the ideas for your PhD, and should be attached to your application form. The quality of your Research Proposal is one of the main criteria the School (and funding bodies) use to assess your application. Guidance on how to write a Research Proposal are set out on our Putting Together a Research Proposal page.
We would prefer to see two academic references. If it is several years since you graduated from your last degree we will understand if this will not be possible, and will accept one academic and one non-academic reference.
If you have any academic queries not answered here, please contact our Directors of Graduate Studies, Professor Kathryn Yusoff (Director Graduate Studies - Human Geography) or Dr Stuart Grieve (Director Graduate Studies - Physical Geography and Environmental Science). If you have any queries about the applications process not addressed here, please contact our Postgraduate Studies Manager (Geog-PGadmin@qmul.ac.uk).
We welcome expressions of interest from PhD students at other institutions who wish to spend a period of study at Queen Mary. Visiting PhD students are welcome to join our research activities, including School Research Seminars, Research Frameworks and Physical Geography Group Meetings.
We invite potential applicants to make contact with a member of staff who could act as mentor during their stay in the School of Geography. Staff research interests can be found here
Once mentoring arrangements have been put in place, students should formally submit an application to QMUL Admissions using the online application form. Acceptance of this will recognise the visitor as a student at QMUL and will provide Library, building and network access. The School of Geography will offer shared desk space in a dedicated computer room.